Loom for weaving tufted pile fabrics



C. ALVORD. LOOM FO R WEAVING TUFTED PlLE FABRICS.

APPLICATION FILED min/1s, 1922.

Patented NOV. 21, 1922.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 1 I NVENTOR 2 yrd C. ALVOHD.

LOOM FOR WEAVI NG TUFTED FILE FABRICS.

APPLICATION FILED MAYI8. 1922.

Patented Nov. 21, 1922,

6 SHEETSSHEET 2.

NVENTOR C. ALVORD. 1.00M FOR WEAVI NG TUFTED FILE FABRICS- APPLICATION FILED MAY '8, I922.

Patehted Nov. 21,1922;

6 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

M@um INVENTOR c. ALVORD. LOOM FOB WEAVING TUFTED FILE FABRICS.-

APPLICATION FILED MAYH}, 1922. 1,436,619.

- Patented Nov. 21, 1922.-

6 SHEETSSHEET 4.

INVENTOR C. ALVORD. LOOM FOR W-EAVING TUFTED PILE FABRIC S.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 18, 1922.

Patented Nov. 21, 1922.

6 SHEETSSHEET 6- mvEmroR Nov. 2i,

CLINTON ALVORID, WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

LOOIiI FOB WEAVING TUFTED FILE FABRICS.

To all who 17bit may concern.

Be it known that I, CLINTON Anvonn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Worcester in the county of Vvorcester and State of lilassachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Looms for Weaving Tufted Pile Fabrics. of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in looins for weaving tufted pile fabrics and particularly to the type known as tube frame looms in which a definite number ofpile yarns are wound side by side on spools the yarns severally being ofany desired color or shade. The spools full of yarn are placed in tuft tube 11' ames and the ends ofthe pile yarns are led l roin their spool down through tubes. generally made of tin until the ends of thevarns project some distance beyond. the ends of the tubes. Each tube frame with its spool or spools of yarn makes one row of pile tufts across the fabric; In the well known looms for weaving tufted pile fabrics these tube frames are carried on conveyors over the loom: and by suitable arms operated by the mechanism of the loom. are removed from the conveyor and brought down to the pile forming point near the fell of the cloth. The free ends of the pile yarn are so interwoven with the fabric that the end of each pile yarn formed intov a U. vhereupon shears clip the formed tufts off the yarn pi. tine beyond the tubes of the frame. The shears cut the yarn in two places for they clip a small portion from the extreme end of the yarn at the same time that the body of the tuft is severed. from the yarn. (En. wide tube frame looms it common to find that this clip from oif the extreme end of the pile yarn ice from 1, of an inch up to as long of inch. Finch clippings are absolute waste and amount to from eight to thirty per cent of the total pile yarns used and this waste of expensive pile yarn adds a large per ceutage to the cost of the fabric.

The main ob ect of my invention is to provide a loom for weaving tufted pile fabrice in WlllCh the waste of such clippings from the extreme ends of the pile yarns is eliminated.

further object of my invention is to- Application filed May 12, 1922. SeriaI No. 561,871.

provide a tube frame for'carrying the pile yarn that will work in connection with my devices. e A still further object of iny invention is to provide a tube frame which remains attached to the conveyor at all times during the process of weaving and to provide means for positioning or registering, the tube frame both laterally and longitudinally rel.- ative to the loom.

Another object of my .invention is the form and construction of a tube frame in which the openings for the yarn are cut through a solid steel body. 7 i A. still. further object of my invention is to so support and guide the tube frame at yarious positions during that period in which the pile yarn is being drawn. off that it will assume a predetermined position so that the resultingv strain cannot appreciably bend the frame and thus cause uneven lengths of yarn tobe sheared from the yarn on the frame. l f

. With the above and other objects in View my invention consists in the construction, arrangement, and details of construction, disclosed in the drawings and specification and then more particularly'pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawingswherein similar reference charactersdesignate similar parts throughout the respective views f Figure (1). 's an end elevation showing the principal parts of myloom; I

Figure (2) is a view showing the lathe and lathe cam; i 1

Figure is a detail of the gripper lockinn" mechanism showing the parts unlocked; Figure t) varies from Fig. 3 by showing the parts as locked in position; i i y. I

Figure (5) shows the parts shown in Fig. 4 as revolved to the pile making point and about to be unlocked; i

1 Figure (6) is a detail of Fig. 1 showing the support for the tube frame; Q

Figure (7) shows the same parts as Fig. 6, just as the pile yarn has been drawn off;

Figure (8) shows a fragmentary elevation of my tube frame sectioned on line ZZ in Fig.9;

Figure (9) shows a fragmentary end ele-v vation of mytuhe frame.

Figure (10) shows an end elevation of the knife arrangement for severing the tufts;

Figure (11) shows a plan of the knife arrangement Figure (12) illustrates a plan view of the breast beam comb and reed dents sectioned on XX in Figure 13. 1

Figure (13) is an enlarged plan view of the breast beam comb and reed dents.

Figure (14) is an end elevation of my tube frame;

Figure (15) is a front elevation of a tube frame for a wide loom;

Figure (16) is a detail of the end spring bearing for holding one of the end spools;

Figure (17 is an end elevation of Fig. 16;

Figure (18) is a detail of the friction device for the spools on the tube frame;

Figures (19, 20, 21, 22, and 23) are details showing various cams and their levers giving the approximate setting of each as located from the common key of the three pick shaft- Figure (24) is a detail side elevation of the tube frame registering device and Figure 25 is an enlarged section in perspective showing a portion of a tube frame with its openings for the passage of the tuft yarn and also the walls of the slots between which the gripping ends of the grippers enter.

The drawings illustrate my mechanism plainly. The loom frame is figured 1, and is so designed as to hold the various shafts, brackets, etc, of the loom. The lower, or three pick, shaft 2 is journaled in the loom frame and holds most of the operative cams. Tube frames 3 are attached at 4 to the conveyor 5 the two chains of which mesh with the teeth 6 of the sprocket wheels 7 held on the shaft 8 by key 9, the shaft 8 being journaled at 10 in the extended arms 11 (one being broken away) of the extension 12 forming a portion of the main frame 1. 8 with its sprocket wheels is turned in the customary manner by pawl 14 as it meshes with and pulls on the pins 15 of the ratchet 16. Pawl 14 is journaled at17 on the lever 18 and its motion is derived through the connector 19 which extends to a conventional operating mechanism which is not shown because the movement of this sprocket shaft is common to most tube frame looms. The shaft 20 is journaled at 21 in an extended arm' of the loom frame 1 and carries the two arms 22 fast, thereon to which is attached slotted bar 23 in the slots of which are seated the grippers 24 held to the slotted bar by bolts 25 and cap 25 (Fig. 6). The jaw 26 of the gripper is fulcrumed at 27 to the main part of the gripper 24, while the end 28 of the jaw enters the longitudinal slot 29 in the shaft '30 whereby the oscillation of shaft 30, journaled in the arms 22, will cause the jaws to open and shut similarly to the action of pliers. Shaft 20 is oscillated in its Shaft I bearings by the action of rack 31 in mesh with sector gear 32 fast on shaft 20, the rack receiving its motion from the cam 33, the motion of which is transmitted through roller 34 pivoted on lever 35, which is fulc-rumed at 36, while to the free end 37 is at tached the rod head 38 of the rack 31. In Fig. 1 the roller which backs up rack 31, thus keeping it in mesh with the sector gear 32, is not shown, having been omitted for the sake of clearness. When the lever 35 is away down at the lowest part of the cam 33 the grippers 24 are in position at the fell of the cloth as shown in Fig. 13, while the rotation of the cam will raise the grippers up to their highest point as shown in Figs. 1 and 9. At this highest point the ends of the grippers enter into the transverse slots 39 (Figures 9 and 25) of the tube frame 3 where the grippers are in proper place to grasp the ends of the pile yarn that are projecting through the narrow choked down openings of the tube frame and are filling the width of the transverse slots being in an ideal situation for such grasping.

The tube frame 3 is provided with end dogs 40, (Fig. 15) fastened thereto by the screws 41, that are attached to the conveyor chains 5 by the split pins 42. The two dogs are each equipped with a spring bearing 43 in which is journaled the gudgeon 44 of the two end spools 45. The other gudgeon of each spool is journaled respectively in the bearings 46 and 47 which are attached to the tube frame intermediate its ends. The right hand bearing of the central spool shown in Fig. 15 is journaled in spring bearing 48 which is attached by the screw 49 to the tube frame while the left hand gudgeon is journaled in the rigid bearing 47. The arrangement is such that the left hand spool can be removed from the frame by pressing back the left hand spring bearing 43, while the right hand spool shown in Fig. 15 can be similarly removed, whereupon the central spool can be removed by forcing spring bearing 48 toward the right. The necessary friction is imparted to one of the heads of each spool by means of the helical spring 50 which is so situated in the recess 51 of the tube frame that one end of the spring bears against the plunger 52 while the other end bears against the adjusting screw 53. The top end of this spring-actuated plunger passes through the bent-up portion 54 of the friction pad 55 and then bears at 56 against the underneath side of the friction pad, thus forcing the pad against the spool head 57. The degree of friction can be altered by changing the tension of the spring by the adjustment of screw 53 (Fig. 18). The right hand end of the spool frame is equipped with the projection 58 so situated as to impact at 59 on the stop 60, being forced there against by means of the end 61 of the lever 68 which impacts agains the projection 63 on the left hand end of the tube frame, and thus the tube frame is registered laterally of the loom (Figs. 1 and 15). The free ends of the end dogs 41-0 of the tube frame are of the same length and are adapted to bear against the bottom of the groove (i-f in the sprockets, while the free ends of the intermediate spool bearings 46 and 47 are adapted to contact respectively with collars 65 and 66 on shaft 8 when forced toward the shaft by the ends 67 of the levers 68. In Fig. 15, T have shown ends 67 of four levers 68 each of which press the tube frame up, toward and practically against the sprocket shaft 8 and the frame is held there by the pressure of the levers during the period while the grippers are grasping and then drawing the yarn off the spools of the tube frame. Thus each tube frame as it is presented in turn to the action of levers 68 is pressed up against these aligning collars and the sprockets on the sprocket shaft and held in that position as long as is necessary. Levers 68 (Fi s. 1, 6 and 19) derive their motion for adjust-in the position of the frame from the action of cam 69 fast on shaft 2 upon the roller 70 pivoted mid-way of the lever 71 which is fulcrumed at 7 2 while to the free end 73 is freely attached connector 74 which extends upward and is freely attached at 75 to the lever 76 made fast to shaft '77 which is journaled in the extended arm 12. Extending downwardly from shaft 77 are levers 78 attached rigidly thereto and in these downward extending arms is seated the shaft 79 holding the various levers 68, the ends 67 of which press the tube frames toward and against the sprocket shaft 8. Figure 6 shows the lever (58 in its normal position with the end 67 away from and unimpeding the movement of the tube frames.

The downward movement of lever 76 is r transmitted to lever 80 by means of the relative stiffness of spring 82 which encircles connector 81 and abuts at its upper end against arm 83 of lever 85 pivoted at 86 on lever 76. The other arm 87 of lever 85 is equipt with. a slot 88 through which projects pin 89 fast in arm 80 of lever 68.

The downward pull. of connector 7e: tends to turn the shaft 77 clockwise so that the pivot shaft 79 seated in lever 78 is moved toward the left (figs. 1 and 6). The four evers 68 are fast on shaft 79 and the end 67 of each lever is provided with spur 67 formed to enter freely a corresponding hole 58 in the body of the tube frame. The shaft 79 is journaled freely at both sides of the loom in the lower ends of downwardly extending levers 7 8 which are firmly keyed at their upper ends to shaft 77. The lever 80 is keyed fast to shaft 79 and extends toward the back of the 100m being approximately parallel with the lever 76. Thus the shaft 7 9 is provided with the four forwardly extending levers (58 which are provided for the purpose of aligning and positioning the tube frames as they are turned into place by the conveyor, and the shaft 7 9 also has fast on it the rearwardly extending lever 80 which is acted upon by the expansive force of the spring 82 to cause the shaft 79 to turn clockwise and the ends 67 of the four levers 68 to move upward toward the sprocket shaft 8. The combined action of the movement of pivot shaft 79 toward the left and the downward thrust of the relatively stiff spring 82 will move the ends 67 of levers 68 toward the left and also upward until they impact the tube-frame 3 whereupon the movement toward the left will swing the frame about its pivot cotter pin 4:2 while the clownward thrust of spring 82 will push the frame firmly, but with a yielding resistance, up toward the sprocket shaft 8. Thus the frame is held in alignment by the opposing agents. Fig. 7 illustrates the extreme left hand position of the tube frame 8, also the fact that it is held snugly up against the sprocket shaft collars while the yarn is being drawn off the spools against the resistance of the comparatively light friction springs 50. a

The end 7 of each lever 68 is equipt with a tapered pin or spur 67 formed and constructed to enter into the corresponding holes 58 in thetube frame 2 1-.) whenever the lever 68 contacts with a frameduring the process of registering the same, the object being to force the spurs 67 into the holes 58 and thus to bend into straight line a slightly bent tube frame and to correct any slight irregularities that occur in a frame transversely thereof. The stiffness of the two shafts 77 and 79 will assure that a bent frame will be thus straightened. while the spurs remain. inserted.

A hole 58 is somewhat larger than its pin 67 so as to allow for the swinging of the frame about its pivot split-pin 42; but the fit is'close enough to cause the pins to force the frame into satisfactory alignment when the frame is forced against the sprocket shaft.

When the expression at tuft presenta tion occurs in the claims it is interpreted to mean that portion of the three picl: cycle in the weaving of a tuft that is used for presenting the yarn to the grippers and the drawing of and cutting of the yarn.

Lever 62 (Fig. 15) receives its operative action for laterally registering the tube frame against dead stop 60 from spring 91 attached at 922 to the frame arm and at its upper end to the arm 94 of lever 82. Cam 95 fast on shaft 2 20) acts on lever 96, fulcrumed at 99,through the roller 08 and from 97 extends upward connector 100 which is attached at 101 to the arm 9 1 of lever 62. The upward thrust of connector 100', caused by cam 95, moves the end 61 of lever 62 away from the lug 63 of the tube frame thus leaving it free to be moved by its conveyor and another frame to take its place.

I will now describe the mechanism for opening and closing the grippers. As previously stated the ends 23 of the jaws of the grippers enter the longitudinal slot 29 so that an oscillation of'shaft 30 will cause the jaws to open and shut like the action of pliers or nippers (Figs. 1 and 7). Fast on one end of shaft 30 is the lever 102 (Figs. 3, 4 and 5) carrying pivot pin 103 holding the trigger-lever 10 1 the two arms of which straddle shaft 20. Extension spring 105 is attached to lever 102 at 106, and, likewise at 107 to member 103 fast on shaft 20, hence the contractive pull of the spring tends to retain the parts in the position shown in Fig. 3. Arm 109 of trigger lever 10% is equipt with the tooth, or pawl, 110 adapted to enter tie notch 111 formed in the arm 112 of member 103. Lever 113 pivoted at 119 (Fig. 1) is formed and constructed to impact on either end 114 or 115 of the two-armed trigger lever 1041 and derives its operative action from cam 116 fast on shaft 2 while the roller on the lower end of the lever is retained in contact with the cam by the contractive action of spring 120. Figs. 1 and 3 show lever 113 as contacting lever 10 1- at 11% so that the action of cam point 117 of cam 116 while moving clockwise in the di-- rection of the arrow in Fig. 1, will force the top of lever 113 toward the left carrying with it lever 104: and rotating shaft 30 clodkwise until tooth 110' drops into notch 111 being forced downward thereinto by the action of lever 113 as shown in Fig. 4; and it is retained in place both by the action of gravity on lever 104 and the contractive force of spring 105 which has been extended during the above described movement. The partial clockwise rotation of shaft 30 with its longitudinal slot 29 moves all the gripper jaws and closes the grippers thus gripping the ends of the pile yarns. The grippers now draw 01f yarn for a tuft and it is severed as described later. The subsequent lowering of the grippers 21 to the fell of the fabric as shown in Fig. 13 brings the end 115 of lever 10 1 up into contact position with trigger cam lever 113 as shown in Fig. 5 so that the second operative move of lever 113, due to the action of cam point .118 on cam 116 (Fig. 22) will cause the pawl 110 to be forced out of the notch and the com traction of the spring 105 will cause the triggerr'lever to move rapidly into its no:-

mal position shown by the dotted lines in Figure 5, thus rotating shaft 30 contraclockwise and opening the grippers.

The mechanism for severing the tufts of yarn from the tuft frames will now be described.

Fig. 7 shows the position assumed by the tuft yarn frame and the grippers when the shear is ready to operate. The several strands of pile yarn pass through the open ings in the tuft frame 3 and, when each has been grasped by its respective gripper and drawn off the length of a pile tuft, the strands of yarn are stretched about seven eighths of an inch below the frame in parallel lines with a space between each strand of a width substantially equal to the thickness of a wall 39' between two act jacent openings 39 (Fig. 8). lVhile thus stretched between the frame and the grippers a toothed knife or shear blade 119 is moved toward the yarn so that its teeth severally pass between the strands of yarn, whereupon a cutter 120 is moved rapidly longitudinally of the toothed blade to sever the strands of yarn at the apex of each V 132 of the toothed blade.

One good way of holding blade 119 is to fasten it to the two levers 121, one being located at each end of the loom. They are pivoted on the studs 122 fast in the main frame while the in and out motion is derived from the action of cams 12 1 fast on shaft 2, (Figs. 1 and 21). Springs 125 art to retract the toothed blade and keep the roller 126, at the lever end of the cam lever, against the cams 12 1.

The guide rail 127 is attached to the toothed blade 119 and the cutter carriage 123 slides back and forth freely thereon (Figs. 10 and 11). The mechanism for thus moving the cutter carriage is not shown in the drawings as it is conventional in character and well known for this style of yarn cutter although I prefer a cord drum that is oscillated forwardly to wind up the draft cord and thus pull the cutter carriage with the cutter rapidly across the tooth knife, and then rearwardly to re turn the cutter carriage to its initial position. Cutter 120 is set in a cutter block 129 which is seated in a dovetailed recess in the cutter carriage 128 (Fig. 11) and the cutter is pressed against the toothed blade by the spring 130 one end of which is attached to the carriage by the screw 131 while the free end rests against and forces the cutter against the V shaped teeth 132, so that the several strands of pile yarn will be severe-d seriatim as the cutter reaches each tooth while it is moving the length of the blade. The carriage is gibbed freely to the guide rail 127 by the two gibs 133 and 134.

The peculiarities of my new and improved tuft yarn frame will now be delong groove 135 lengthwise thereof, and a series of parallel transverse slots 39 are out through the base 136 so that they severally enter and open into the longitudinal groove (Figs. 8 and 9). The sides 137 of the walls of the transverse slots are substantially parallel with each other for nearly their full depths, however, at the spot 138 where they open into the groove 135 the slots are materially choked down so as to give a relatively narrow opening for the passage of the pile yarns. They are thus formed and constructed so as to limit the space allowed for the passage of yarn which shape assists in keeping the several strands of pile yarn in place and thus help in preventing low rows of pile in the carpet. Each opening 138 from a slot into the long groove 135 is enlarged on the groove side in bell-muzzle fashion so as to allow for the easy compression and subsequent passage of knots in the pile yarn. The walls between the slots 39 are brought to an edge or V shape at the bottom side of the frame where the grippers enter, thus facilitating their entrance therein. Thus the sides 137 of the slots 39, or the walls between the slots, extend beyond the portion of the frame pierced by the openings 138 through which the tuft yarns pass, and the grassying ends of the grippers enter between these walls to grasp the ends of the tuft yarn that, after having been squeezed to the narrow dimensions of the choked down openings 138, have expanded. by virtue of their inherent elasticity so as to practically fill the full width of the slots 39 between the ad jar-cut sides 137. The grippers are only a few thousandths of an inch less in thickness than the width of the slots and therefore each will grasp practically all the substance of its tuft yarn, because the difference between the width of a slot and the thickness of a gripper is much less than the diameter of any ply of yarn that enters into the make-up of a full sized tuft yarn, so no strand or ply can escape the gripper.

hen the word passage occurs in the claims it is interpreted to mean all the opening for the yarn through the body 3 of the tube frame froznwhere the yarn enters the opening 138 to where it hangs free and exposed beyond the parallel side walls 137.

The slots 39 are only a few thousandths of an inch wider than the thiclmess of the point 140 of the grippers that enter these slots, therefore the grippers will effectually grasp all the strands and fibres of each respective pile yarn. The shear cuts the yarn so close to the frame that only about one eighth of an inch of yarn projects beyond the walls of the slots, and because the gripping ends of the grippers enter the slots 39 about one eighth of an inch they are sure to catch all the substance of each strand of pile yarn for approximately a distance of one quarter of an inch. As soon as the last strand of pile yarn has been cut the grippers are lowered to the fell of the cloth, by the action of cam 33, where they are positioned correctly in relation to the breast beam comb 14-1 as shown in Fig. 13. The reed dents 1 12 are about .024 thick and the lay 113 which is formed to hold them, is in its forward position with the dents up in the slots 1 1 1 of the breast-beam comb and guided thereby when the descending grippers enter between the dents 142 (Figs. 12 and 13). The warp yarns pass through the openings 1415 in the reed dents and thus the dents accurately uide the warp. The warp near the fell of tie cloth is on the same side of the dent as the yarn receiving slot 146 in the breastbeam comb. The reed dents practically fill the slots 1 141- in the comb there being not enough room in a slot for a reed dent and a warp yarn when placed beside each other. In Fig. 12 for the sake of clearness these slots are shown as too wide for actual practice. Slot 1 16 is cut in thebreast-beam comb 1 11 for the reception of the warp yarns that pass through that particular reed dent. The plan view Fig. 12 shows a gripper interposed between the adjacent reed dents that are up in the reed slots 14A of the breast-beam comb, with the lay nearly on the front center. This is the point in the weaving when the jaws are unlatche'd and the tufts of the pile yarn are released from the grippers. The last pick of weft 1-17 is shown in Figure 13 as over the tuft yarns 148 and up against the reed dents which are driving it up to the fell of finished fabric and the weft is about to pass over the point 149 of the comb. The downward pull of the warp 150 that is over the weft, will cause the weft to snap down over the comb points 149 on to the top of the body of fabric 151 just woven and this act causes the end of the pile yarn, which has just escaped from the gripper, to tip upward over the tooth 1 19 of the comb. The continued action of gripper cam 33 at this point in the process of weaving, swings the grippers upward so that they act as a comb to lift upward, or comb up, any pile tuft that has not already been properly forced up by points 1419 of the comb. The tuft is thus madeto assume the shape of a U with the left leg upheld by the carpeting already woven, while the right leg is upheld by the point 149 of the breast-beam comb. Two more picks of weft corresponding to 152 and 153 are then interwoven to form a standard Axminster carpet, making the conventional three shot weave, before the descending gripper brings down the succeeding tuft to be interwoven in its turn. In Fig. 18 the weft is shown as double as is usual in Axminster carpet.

It is very essential that a gripper should grasp and hold all the substance of the pile yarn, for, if for any reason one strand of a two or three ply pile yarn should not be held adequately and should project to one side of the gripper jaws, then the reed dent adjacent to it would probably drag it into the slot l i l along with itself and by pinching it there prevent either the point 149 of the comb 141, or the ascending gripper, from. carrying the right hand leg of the U of the pile tuft upward. In such a case the right leg of the tuft would be interwoven in the body of the fabric and probably show at the back of the goods in place of on the face. The fact that the slots 137 of the tube frame are but three or four thousandths of an inch wider than the entering ends 140 of the grippers assures that the above described defeet will not happen in my new and improved device.

The lay cams 15st are fast on single pick shaft 155 (Fig. 2) shaft and the cam points 156 there-cf act on rollers 157 (Figs. 1 and 2) to cause the lay with its reed dents to be forced up to the fell of the cloth. The spring attached to the arm 158 is suflicient to swing the lay back to its extreme normal position. The shaft 159 is the fulcrum for the lathe 1 13.

The top shaft 155 rotates once for each pick, or weft insertion, and is geared three to one through gears 162 and 163 with the bottom shaft 2. The three harness frames 161 spring the shed from the three sets of warp yarns 150, 154; and 155 but the actuating cams, levers and connections are not shown because they can be of any of the well known designs applicable to looms for weaving tufted pile fabrics. The cams for actuating the harness frames are mounted on shaft 2.

A tufted pile fabric is an Axminster carpeting and in such fabrics the weft, or filling, is put in with the well known weft needle. The needle 160 enters the shed from the right hand side carrying with it the well known double strand of yarn in the form of a loop and advances clear across the fabric until the selvage shuttle situated at the left hand selvage, can catch the loop of weft and hold it while the weft needle is being withdrawn from the shed. During this withdrawal the selvage shuttle passes clear through the loop of weft. The operation of the weft needle and the selvage shuttle are practically iden tical to the action of a lock stitch sewing machine. I have shown the weft needle 160 in the shed in Fig. 1 but have omitted the mechanism for actuating it; and have omitted entirely the selvage shuttle and its mechanism, for such appertenances are almost universal in looms for tufted pile fabrics.

The top shaft 155 is the moving means for actuating the mechanism for both the weft needle and the selvage shuttle. In many looms these weaving elements are moved from the lower or three pick shaft 2, and on all such cases the cams and gears are necessarily constructed to give three identical impulses. However, for many years I have built tufted pile fabric looms with the one pick top shaft 155 that calls for single action elements to drive bot.) weft needle and selvage shuttle. Such an arrangement is so well known that it is unnecessary to show it on the drawings.

The operation of my invention is follows. After the different colored yarns have been placed on the spools of the tuft yarn frame according to the pattern, they are drawn through the slots 39 and trimmed oil until they project about one eighth of an inch beyond the ends of the walls of the slots. The frames are attached to the conveyor and are moved by the chains at the proper time and place, being in turn registered longitudinally by the lever 62 and transversely by the levers 68 so as to be properly placed for the ascending open awed grippers which enter the slots of the tuft frame and grasp respectively all the substance of the ends of the pile yarns. The jaws are closed by the action of trigger cam l ver 113 impacting upon trigger lever 114i and pushing the pawl 110 into the retaining tooth 111.

lVhile the open grippers are rising to enter the transverse slots 35) of the tuft-frame and grasp the ends of pile yarn, the lever (38 is moving to ard the trains, which is hanging from the sprocket chains, and upon contacting with it they move it around the cotter pins as a center and register the frznne so the open-jawed grippers will approach as shown in Figs. 1 and 9 with the ends of pile yarn centered evenly between the open jaws.

Figure 19 shows cam lever 71 and cam (59 as they have actuated lever 68 to move the tube frame into the position shown in Fig. 1

while the cam rise (u) (Fig. 19) forces the frame still further toward the left during the time the grippers are drawing off the tuft of yarn as shown in Fig. 7.

The cam 95 and cam lever 96 (Fig. 20) act to register the frame longitudinally as the grippers approach the frame to grasp the yarn by causing lever end 61 to press the frame against dead-stop 59 (Fig. 1.5) thus bringing the several slots accurately in line with the advancing grippers. Fig. 20 illusrates the positions of the cam and lever at the moment the grippers are about to enter between the walls of the slots. Fig. 23 shows the lever 35 as forced up by cam 33 and holding the grippers in the frame all the time the concentric dwell (cl) of the cam is passing under the roller 34 and until the roller drops down the depression (a) which causes the grippers to lower sufiiciently'to draw off the required amount of yarn for a tuft.

As previously stated the mechanism for giving the pile cutter its conventional forward andback motion is well known and therefore not shown on the drawings.

The reed dents 142 are up in the breastbeam comb 1 11 and are held firmly in place by the cam point 156 (Fig. 2) when the descending grippers enter between them and they drop to their lowest position as the reed-dents move to the back position. The weft inserting mechanism for operating the weft needle 160 has been omitted in the drawings as it may be any one of several conventional types used commonly in tuft pile fabrics or Axminster looms. The reed dents (Figs. 1 and 2) are drawn back from the breast-beam comb some four inches by the lay action and the shot of weft 1 f? is inserted in front of the reed dents 14:2 in the shed formed by the yarn 150, 15a and 155. The forward thrust of the reed towards the left (Figs. 1 and 2) drives the inserted shot of weft 1 17 along the jaws of the grippers and over the strands of pile yarn held by them until the weft reaches the position occupied in Fig. 13 and at about that point in the process of weaving the trigger cam lever is advanced by cam point 118 so as to contact the trigger lever at 115 (Fig. 5) and force the pawl 110 out of the retaining tooth 111 whereupon the contraction of the released spring 105 will. cause the gripper jaws to open suddenly and release the tufts of pile. The continued forward move of the reed dents toward the left forces the last shot of weft over the teeth 1&9 of the breastbeam comb until it is about one quarter of an inch ahead of these teeth. The downward pull of the warp yarns 150 draws the weft down onto the main body of the fabric and, as the lay with its dents is retracted, the pull of all the warp threads draws the fabric toward the right so that this last weft is pressed snugly up against the teeth 1&9 which forces the right hand leg of the tuft of pile onto the face side of the carpet. Almost immediately after the jawshave opened to release the pile the grippers bee gin to rise thus acting as a comb to assist in moving the right hand leg of the pile to the face of the fabric if some of them by chance have not all been turned upward by the teeth 149 of the breast-beam comb.

l ihile the two succeeding shots of weft are being inserted, during the regular procsee of wearing, the grippers are up at the next tuft frame, which has been moved into operative position to take the place of the one just used, which was moved away as its successor moved into position, and the grippers will bring down the next row of pile tufts in turn for them to be inserted during the succeeding shot of weft.

Figure 13Sl1OWS that the reed dents are constructed and arranged to pass between the grippers whilethey are holding the tuft yarn at the fell'of the cloth, and therefore the grippers can retain such position while the reed is beating up the weft during the pile insertion. The construction of a tuft frame loom with such an arrangement of grippers and reeds adds greatly to the speed at which the machine can be run because the reed heats up and baclr while the weft needle is being withdrawn a short distance from the ri ht hand selvage, reversing its motion, and moving forward again to enter the next shed. Therefore the needle does not have to make a dwell in its motion for any purpose except for the quick reed motion.

The speed of the loom is limited bythe speed at which the weft can be inserted and if have so arranged the parts that the weft needle is running practically continuously.

he presence of the grippers down in between the warp and the reed dents does not in any way prevent the insertion of the weft needle, the shedding of the warp, or the beating up of the reed, and all these devices, when taken in connection with the tuft yarn frame, assist in the high speed at which the loom can be run successfully.

lly means of my new and improved device T avoid all trimming of waste off the ends of the pile yarns and thus remedy this serious defect that has nearly always heretofore accompanied the weaving of tufted pile carpets by means of tube frames. It is possible to so time and adjust, or form, the parts in my loom that the two ends of a tuft of pile will stand even above the body of the fabric.

l/Vhereas T have shown and illustrated one good eml iodiment of my invention I do. not limit myself to that one form liecalise rious changes iniggglit be made without dr-pai ing from the spirit of the invention.

What T claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A tuft yarn frame having a series of openings to receive yarn and provided between said openingsavith a of walls which severally ex end beyond the portion of the frame having said openings.

2. in a loom for .vcavi tufted pile febrics, in con'ibination, a turn frame having a series of openings to receive yarn and arovided between said openings with a series of walls which severally extend beyond the portion of said frame pierced by said openings, a series of grippers adapted to enter between said walls and grip the yarn extending through the openings, and means to actuate said grippers. v

3. In a loom for weaving tufted pile fabrics, in combination, a tuft yarn frame having a series of openings through which the yarn on the frame passes, and a seriesof ripping jaws operable severally to enter said openings and grip the yarn.

4. In a loom for weaving tufted pile fabrics, in combination, a tuft yarn frame having a series of openings through which the yarn on the frame passes, a series of gripping jaws operablev to enter said openings and grip the yarn, and means for altering the relative location of said jaws and said frameto cause the yarn to be drawn through said openings.

5. In a loom for weaving tufted pile fabrics, in combination, a tuft yarn frame having a series of openings through which the yarn passes and provided with walls between the openings which severally extend beyond the portion of the frame pierced by said openings, a series of gripping jaws operable to enter between the walls and grip the yarns extending through the openings, means operable for moving said jaws to cause yarn to be drawn through the openings, and means for severing from the main portion of yarn the yarn drawn off by the grippers.

6. In a loom for Weaving tufted pile fabrics, in combination, a tuft yarn frame having a series of openings through which the yarn passes and provided with walls between the openings which extend beyond the portion of the frame pierced by said openings, means for supporting said frame, a series of gripping jaws operable to enter between said walls and grip the yarn extending through the openings, means for registering the relative positions of said frame and said jaws, means for altering the relative position of said jaws and said frame whereby a portion of the yarn may be drawn off from the frame, and means acting on the frame to resist the disalignment of said. frame during the drawing off of the yarn.

7. In a loom for weaving tufted pile fabrics, in combination, a tuft yarn frame having a series of openings through which the yarn passes and provided with walls between the openings which severally extend beyond the portion of the frame pierced by the openings, a series of gripping jaws operable to enter between the walls and grip the yarn extending through the openings, means operable to alter the relative position of said frame and said jaws, means for moving said aws to cause yarn to be drawn through the openings, means for severing the drawn oft portion of yarn from the frame, weaving instrumentalities, means for transferring the severed portions of yarn and interweaving them with the fabric, and means for releasing the gripping jaws.

8. In a loom for weaving tufted pile fabrics, in combination, a conveyor, a tuft yarn frame attached to said conveyor, a series of grippers adapted to enter said frame and grasp the yarn, and means to position said frame transversely of the loom so as to register it accurately with said series of grippers.

9. In a loom for weaving tufted pile fabrics, in combination, a conveyor, a tuft yarn frame attached to said conveyor, throughout the process of weaving the tuft, and means for positioning said frame lon gitudinally of said conveyor.

10. In a loom for weaving tufted pile fabrics, in combination, a conveyor, a tuft yarn frame attached to said conveyor throughout the process of weaving the tuft, and means for positioning said frame transversely and longitudinally of said conveyor.

11. In a loom for weaving tufted pile fabrics, in combination, a conveyor, a tuft yarn frame carried by said conveyor, a series of grippers operable to enter said frame and grasp the yarn, and means operable to register the relative position of said frame and said grippers.

12. A tuft yarn frame having a series of openings through which the yarn passes and provided with walls between the openings which extend beyond the portion of the frame pierced bythe openings, said walls being integral with the portion of the frame pierced by the openings. I

13. A tuft yarn frame having a groove in the body of the frame longitudinal there with, and provided with a series of grooves transverse of the longitudinal groove which opens into said first named groove.

14. In a loom for weaving tufted pile fabrics, in combination, a pile tuft frame con taining slots for guiding the respective pile yarns, a series of gripping jaws constructed. and arranged to enter said slots and grasp all the substance of each respective yarn. reed mechanism, and a breast-beanti comb constructed and arranged to onset with said grippers and said. reed. mechanism, to turn one end of each tuft of yarn onto-the face of the fabric and to hold the tuft in place while the next succeeding shot of weft is being inserted and driven to the fell.

15. A tuft yarn frame having a series of openings for the passage of strands of tuft yarn one end of each opening being bell-muzzled for the compression and easier passage of knotswhile the other end is enlarged for the entrance-of. a gripper.

16. A tuft yarn frame having a series of passages for the strands of tuft yarn with the walls of each passage constructed and arranged to choke down the opening thereof intermediate its ends,

17. in a loom for weaving tufted pile fabrics, in combination, a conveyor constructed and arranged to carry tuft yarn frames, grippers operable to draw tuft yarn from one of said frames, shear mechanism operable to sever the drawn yarn, weft insertion means, and reed dents constructed and arranged to pass between said grippers holding the tuft yarn while beating up the weft.

18. In a loom for weaving tufted pile fabrics, in combination, a conveyor constrru'ted and arranged to carry tuft yarn frames, grippers operable to draw tuft yarn. from a frame, shear mechanism operable to sever the drawn yarn, weaving instrun'ientalities, reed dents operable to pass between said grippers, and means co-acting with said reed dents to cause the two ends of the tuft to turn onto the face of the fabric.

19. In a loom for weavii tufted pile fab rics, in combination, a conveyor, a tuft yarn frame attached. to said conveyor, aligning surfaces, and means for pressing transversely of the frame said frame toward and against said surfaces substantially as described.

20. In a loom for weaving tufted pile fabrics, in combination, a conveyor, a tuft yarn frame attached to said conveyor, aligning surfaces, means for pressing transversely of the frame the two ends of said frames against two of said surfaces, and means for pressing said frame intermediate of its ends against certain other of said surfaces.

21. In a loom for weaving tufted pile fabrics, in combination, a conveyor, means for actuating said conveyor, a tuft yarn frame attached to said conveyor, means for positioning said frame longitudinally, and means independent of said first named means for moving said frame transversely.

22. A tuft yarn frame constructed with means adapted to apply friction to the yarn, and provided with a series of passages to receive the yarn, one end of each passage being formed with an entrance for a gripper.

23. In a loom for weaving tufted pile fabrics, in combination, a conveyor to carry tuft yarn frames, tuft yarn frames carried by said conveyor and provided. with openings for the passage of tuft yarn, grippers adapted to enter said openings and grasp the tuft yarn, shear mechanism operable to sever the drawn yarn, weft insertion means, and reed dents constructed and arranged to pass between said grippers holding the tuft yarn while beating up the weft.

2 f. In a loom for weaving tufted pile fabrics, in combination, a conveyor to carry tuft yarn frames, grippers operable to draw tuft yarn from a frame carried by said conveyor, shear mechanism to sever the drawn yarn, weaving instrumentalities, mechanism to move said grippers holding the severed yarn to the fell of the fabric, weft insertion mechanism constructed and arranged to deliver weft between the reed and the point of the grippers, and a reed constructed and arranged to drive the weft along the grippers and past a portion of each severed yarn until said reed drives the weft and the tuft yarn to the fell of the fabric.

25. A tuft yarn frame having a series of passages to receive yarn, each passage being formed and constructed at one end thereof with an entrance for a gripper.

26. A tuft yarn frame having a series of passages to receive yarn, each passage being constructed at one end thereof with an entrance for a gripper while adjacent said gripper-entrance each passage is formed with a friction surface for the yarn.

27. A tuft yarn frame having a series of tpassages to receive yarn, each passage being formed and constructed at one end thereof with an entrance for a gripper, and provided with means for imparting friction to the yarn intermediate the said gripper-entrance and the source of yarn supply.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and afiixed my seal this sixteenth day of May 1922.

- CLINTON ALVOBD. [n s.]

Attest:

CHARLES C. ALvoRD, MARY R. KERR. 

